‘The top pieces of the Church of Saint Dymphna’

Guided tours start at 1, 2, 3 and 4 pm.
Tours can also be booked as group tours.
Tours can also be booked for groups of maximum 20 people with a dedicated guide at a time of your choice. Please book in advance through the local Tourist Board and city events department of the council on +32 (0)14 566380 or at toerisme@geel.be.

The Flemish Masters in situ arts trail shines the spotlight on Flemish top pieces that can still be found in the places they were originally commissioned for. In Geel, the work of choice is the Saint Dymphna altarpiece, a Flemish top piece from the end of the 15th, beginning of the 16th century that consists of more than 200 oak figures. Originally polychrome, they now only bear the traces of their colourful past. The protagonist of the masterpiece is Geel’s patron saint Saint Dymphna who is credited with devising the world-famous way psychiatric patients are cared for in the city.
Apart from the altarpiece of Saint Dymphna, there are four more Flemish top pieces to be admired in the church: the Passion Retable, the Retable of the Apostles and the so-called Merodekes, two dainty paintings from around 1525 attributed to Haarlem painter Jan Mostaert.
A number of official city guides will provide guided tours along these top pieces in the Church of Saint Dymphna on 2 June, which also happens to be Open Church Day. Guided tours start at 1, 2, 3 and 4 pm.